my panama jack (not the suntan oil)!

Yeah, don't buy it.

The frame is noted for breaking at the seat tube - rack weld.

Yes, there have been reports of seat stay breakage. But I would think that that could be reinforced somehow.

I'm a fan of the modern Huffys myself. They're tough. The single-speeds have 12 gauge spokes. That's great. I don't know if the multi-speeds have the same.

I'd go ahead and do it. Any bike will have some weak spot.

If your bike budget is at the panama jack level.
Try this bike , It's a better foundation for a motorized conversion.



29" Schwinn Low Glide Men's Cruiser Bike. Wally world $179
Better frame / rear rack is bolted on / slightly better components.

Personally I wouldn't be afraid of the Panama Jack Huffy, yes there have been a couple of people that have had issues, we dont know exactly why but I wouldn't be that concerned about it myself, I would just get me an extra seat post, do some measuring to make sure I cut it the correct length and then Id drive it down in the seat post tube so that there would be all that extra thickness added inside the seat post tube to reinforce it from and stress and vi ration that could potentially create a problem.

Im gonna guess that the couple bikes we've heard on that had frame failures were probably using engines that had serious vibration issues and/or the riders had the seats raised very high which also adds a lot of extra stress on the seat tube.

I've had flawless service from my Huffy frame and I'm not concerned about using them at all.

boxcar said:

If your bike budget is at the panama jack level.
Try this bike , It's a better foundation for a motorized conversion.

29" Schwinn Low Glide Men's Cruiser Bike. Wally world $179
Better frame / rear rack is bolted on / slightly better components.

Click to expand...

I considered this bike myself until I realized it's a 29er and has 14ga spokes, bad combination in my opinion, dont like the 29ers and 14ga spokes with a rag joint are weak set ups, yes they work and can work for a long time for some, I still have two bikes with a rag joint on 14ga zpokes myself but I've also checked two of my wheels lately to find that each of them have spokes that have broke where they are pinched between the rubber in the rag joint, Im fixing to phase out all my 14ga wheel on the rear of my bikes, I dont trust them anymore since my bikes are all 40+mph cruisers once I get some more work done on a couple of them.

The Schwinn is an excellent looking bike but Id put 12ga spoked 26" wheels on that bike if I got one and then you would have a nice large frame stretched a bit cruiser that would have wheels that would take a beating and not quit on you.

"The Schwinn is an excellent looking bike but Id put 12ga spoked 26" wheels on that bike if I got one and then you would have a nice large frame stretched a bit cruiser that would have wheels that would take a beating and not quit on you." --mapbike.

A very good thought. 12 gauge, 26 inch wheels would be pretty stout.

Plus consider the extra room inside the frame for fitting you drive train. It'd be downright luxurious.

The Columbia Built 1937 is a pretty stout steel frame 26" bike for $150.
The main top bar is the lower bar, the top is a pair split smaller bars.

A 2-stroke just fits with a Z offset intake and sickbikes front mount.





The rack is not frame mounted, and it's nothing to throw a pair of C brakes on it to a dual pull self adjusting brake lever for 3 brakes.

Get fancy and you can make the fake gas tank a real one.







Just another option to make it harder to decide ;-}

I think I'd just invest in a clam shell sprocket mount and run the 29's.
With a 44 tooth sprocket and a bit of a tune on a good CG it'd be a great cruising bike.
The Columbia is a very nice bike.
I like the 3 brake idea . ( interesting )
I think I'd remount the rear brakes above the down tubes for safety sake though.
Having them mounted below can distort the down tubes....

soberguy said:

ok guys it seems as though most dislike the p jack. i got that much. my issues are not frame strength but wheel strength. i weld like the cats n&%s. so thats no problem. the rag joint is the weakest part of any chinese kit. thats why all the manic sprocket talk. anyway thanks for advertising your bikes here but when i decide to get a 29 inch bike,put 26 inch wheels on switch brands and do 40 miles per hour on a rag joint i will just buy a real motorcycle! also the schwinn dont look like a beach cruiser it looks like thomas edisons bike. but to each his own. thanks for everyone confusing me more and turning it into a schwinn and columbia advertisement. excuse my rudeness i havent had a drink in 8 months. i love you all........SOBERGUY. i cant wait till its done so i can post it in someones question for an answer

Click to expand...

yep this did get out of hand in the wrong direction didnt it.

To be honest the rag joint set up is one of the more depepndable parts of the kits when done right.

Most all of the current bikes such as The Huffyetc have 36 spoke wheels.

Using wheels with larger spokes is required but just a little extra insurance.

I have not had any problems with my Huffy frame.

To find out what size the wheel hub is youll need to measure it, there are several hub sizes out there when you're talking multi speed wheels, just an inexpensive caliper an do the job great, Harbor Frieght Tools or somewhere similar will have them cheap.

Sorry, your thread got Hi-Jacked with all the talk about the other bikes and mess, people get carried away with all kinds of stuff going through their minds when we get to talking about potential fixes or multiple ways one can go with a build, no harm intended.


Map

Dude, calm down......
In order to make a good safe bike from any bike, especially a BOX store bike.
You are going to have to change out nearly all of the component parts sooner than later any way.
So , if you start with a bike with say,,, better derailleurs , better brake components
A good seat and seat post etc. You will end up changing fewer parts in the long run.
While the Pan jack is a cool looking bike with 12ga spokes.
Those spokes are in single wall rims. With the cheapest bearings that Huffy can find.
NOT A GOOD MIX........
And welding the rack to the bike where they did is, well, poor planing. And has proved problematic for Huffy.


Not that the Schwinn is a hugely better bike.
But it is, in just the right ways.
If your not a fan of the STRONGER flat bar designed frames, don't buy one.
Just understand that the PanJack isn't the best choice for a first time motorized bicycle owner / builder.
It is better than some and worse than most.
If you get offended when given advice from those that you ask it from , then don't ask.......
Just remember, most of us are here to help.
We help by giving FREE advice to people who ask us for it.......
Advice gleaned from experience.
If some of us are proud of our work , and show it by posting pics of sed work.
Use it to your advantage..... A picture is worth a thousand words.
And for god sake . Don't bight the hand that's feeding you. Unless of course you want to be directed instantly to the search engine from now on......